


Baptism and Surpassing

by Diary



Category: Kings (TV 2009)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Bechdel Test Pass, Canon Character of Color, Canon Gay Character, Disturbing Themes, Family, Friendship/Love, King Jack Benjamin, Late Night Conversations, Multi, POV Multiple, Past Jack Benjamin/Joseph Lasile - Freeform, Past Relationship(s), Post-Canon, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 16:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7764889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Repost. A post-series take on Jack and the others. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baptism and Surpassing

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Kings.

 “Of course,” Jack murmurs. Sighing, he stands. “Welcome back, Michelle. Have you seen a doctor?”

She looks at him with fear and hatred in her eyes.

Everyone is tense.

The country still thinks he’s somehow the one behind the assassin who shot Silas and Rose dead. Thomasina is jailed, many of the palace servants are loyal to her, and now, his pregnant sister is back, and there’s no sign of Shepherd.

A reverend has said the benediction and crowned him with the true crown of Gilboa, but Jack is tired of pretending he ever has any chance. This is the second and last time God will ever speak to him.

Walking over, he whispers, “I’m going to leave, now. You and Shepherd have a choice: let me live peacefully wherever I go, or suffer in Hell with me. I am your blood, no matter how much you despise that fact.”

She leans back. “Jack?”

Stepping back, he bows. “I abdicate.”

Ignoring the clamour, he walks out of the room.

0

Thomasina was the one who saved him.

He came to consciousness with a pounding headache and a body so soaked he thought he’d never be dry. Above him, wet and with angry with scared eyes, was Thomasina. He had a taste of her in his mouth, and his rib was broken.

Jack made a grab for her gun, but she was too fast, and he too weak. “They’re dead, and Michelle is gone.”

For a moment, he simply looked at her. When it finally hit him, he began laughing. “Ah. Of course, and I’m the one who turned against the family. How will you kill me, love?”

Carefully, she let go of his wrists. “It was an unknown assassin, disguised as a servant. They left the insignia of the Sons of Moab. The guards are searching the city.”

Tears starting to fall, Jack continued laughing. “I always thought you were such a smart lady, Thomasina. But you are truly stupid.”

She reached down and wiped the tears and snot from his face. “Your father and mother both knew that, if it ever came to a choice between my loyalty and the life of you or your sister, I would be loyal no more.”

Shaking his head, Jack hissed, “Death would have been kinder than what you tried to do to me. You are no longer anything good in my eyes, Thomasina. Pray that my sister comes to take the throne before my heir is born; otherwise, his or her first breath will be your last.”

“Miss Wolfsen has been taken to a hospital with instructions for her to be held for psychological evaluation. Physically, she was unharmed,” Thomasina calmly informed him.

0

Guards come, and Thomasina demands, “What’s happening?”

Jack has no heir, yet. She wouldn’t be too surprised if he changed his mind on when she would die, but these guards don’t have the look of those escorting the dead. Perhaps, he has changed his mind?

She squashes the hope rising.

“King- uh, Jack Benjamin has abdicated the throne, ma’am. Apparently. And he left the palace. Princess Michelle is back and now acting as regent, and, uh, she’s heavily pregnant.”

The other guard rolls her eyes. “Basically, Gilboa is, again, in turmoil, and no one has any idea what in the hell to do. Lucinda Wolfsen, who just showed up out of nowhere, suggested to Princess Michelle that you be got since you’re the best there is at- Well, I just hope that you do have some idea what to do,” she concludes.

0

“Ma’am,” Thomasina greets. “I must ask: Have you seen a doctor?”

Tiredly, Michelle nods. “I don’t know what to do. I came because I couldn’t stand hiding anymore, couldn’t stand worrying about my baby and David. Jack has no heir. I thought I could convince him to name my child such. If I gave him an heir, and possibly my life, he’d leave David alone. What is Jack doing? Why is he doing this?”

_...that my sister comes to take the throne..._

“Before he abdicated, did he say anything, miss?”

Sighing, Michelle stands and walks to a window. “He asked if I’d seen a doctor. Before that, he sarcastically welcomed me back. Then, he whispered to me that David and I could let him live in peace or burn in Hell.”

Taking a breath, Thomasina tells Michelle of Silas’s punishment to Jack and all the rest.

0

There are guards at Joseph’s grave.

Jack keeps walking and hopes the cap covering his head is still on securely. He doesn’t know if Thomasina sent them on Michelle’s orders, or if she’s discreetly eliminating all assumed threats to Michelle by on her own initiative.

It doesn’t matter.

0

“You believe I love Jack, don’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Stu soothingly responds.

Lucinda Wolfsen loves beyond all common sense, although, Stu knows he can’t exactly judge.

Placing a hand on his shoulder and looking at him with pleading eyes, she says, “Then, please, if you know where he is: Tell me. I promise I won’t tell the others. I just need to know he’s safe and well.”

Taking a breath, he gently says, “Miss, the Prince and I were never really close. We did things, yes,” he winces at her sad, blushing face, “but he wouldn’t come to me.”

This was never in the job description.

He’d heard Prince Jack was a nightmare to work for. He did whatever he wanted with no thought to his own safety. He sometimes literally ordered the person driving him to hand over the keys because he didn’t like how fast or slow they were going. The Queen always wanted the blood of whoever took him to the hottest party, where he’d, often, get drunk out of his mind and end up passed out.

Still, Stu had applied for the job. He’d figured he’d probably get fired or killed, but at least, he’d prove his parents wrong about never amounting to anything.

He hadn’t expected to be propositioned, and he hadn’t expected to start caring for the Prince as a flesh-and-blood person. He certainly hadn’t ever expected for the once-fiancée of Jack Benjamin to come begging for information he doesn’t have.

0

York is a small country next to Gilboa well-known for its isolationist nature.  

Jack sells the jewels he took from the palace. He buys a pair of clippers and coloured contacts. After renting a cheap hotel roo, he gives himself a burr cut, puts in the contacts, and goes to look for a job.

0

David appears, and Michelle collapses.

After all the panic has settled and she’s been thoroughly examined, the doctors assure them she and the baby are fine.

Gently kissing her stomach, h murmurs, “I don’t want the throne, Michelle.”

“Neither do I. I never have.”

“What are we going to do?”

She shakes her head, and tears start to fall. “I don’t know my own brother. I never have. He killed a man, David. In cold blood.”

“It’s okay to still love him,” he says. “Blood can be a powerful bond.”

“Thomasina is trying to find him. I thought if I offered our baby as his heir, he’d spare them.”

David runs his fingers over her stomach. “Despite what all he’s done, Jack is the ruler Gilboa needs. If you want, I’ll find him. We can still offer our daughter as heir, a show of the love you still hold, and a peace offering between us and him.”

“I don’t know the gender, yet.”

Grinning, David kisses her. “I do know. We’re going to have a little girl.”

“Just promise me you won’t get yourself hurt or killed,” she pleads.

“I promise. I promise you and our daughter: I’ll find Jack, and I’ll do it without putting myself in danger.”

0

Jack goes to a nightclub and catches the eye of a man. A dance later, and he’s at the other man’s house.

It’s an exhilarating feeling, knowing this name man wants him. Before, Jack could never be sure, even with Joseph, the men he saw weren’t with him because of his status as crown prince.

He leaves when the man falls asleep.

The first time he let himself form anything close to a real relationship, his lover ended up dead.

0

“But Jack isn’t here,” Michelle protests with a groan.

Wiping Michelle’s head, Thomasina says, “Ma’am, you need to have your baby, now.”

Shaking her head, Michelle squeezes David’s hand. “No. He hasn’t promised to not go after it. My baby isn’t coming out until I have his public promise.”

“Michelle, please, I’ll protect our-”

“No,” she hisses. “I’d rather our child die in the womb than be killed by their uncle.”

0

Tired from a hard day, Jack collapses on the couch, turns on the television, and wonders if he’s hungry enough to walk to the kitchen and pop some ramen in the microwave.

The television flickers, and David Shepherd’s voice is saying his name.

Jack scrambles up and stares at the TV.

“Queen Michelle is refusing to give birth without her brother’s public promise he won’t harm our daughter. Jack, please, I’m begging you: if you’ve ever had any love for her, or any decency in you, then, please, give her your promise.  There’s a good chance your sister will also die. Your niece has never done anything to you. Neither is a threat to you.”

Jack briefly wonders when exactly his television started receiving stations from Gilboa before slipping his contacts back on and heading to a local twenty-four/seven store.

0

Bustling into the room, a doctor says, “Your Highness, Captain Shepherd.” He turns on the TV. “It’s on every channel.”

On the screen with a cap covering his head, Jack says, “I, Jack Benjamin, swear to God and to every person who sees this tape that I will never harm Queen Michelle’s child. I want nothing to do with any of the Benjamin-Shepherd family. Have your baby, Michelle, and rest easy.”

“I, Ja-”

“It’s on loop,” the doctor explains.

Gasping, Michelle rasps out, “I’m ready.”

0

No matter how hard he tries, Jack can’t find the Gilboa station.

He pays off the hacker he found, and all of the money he had been saving from when he sold the jewels is now gone.

The price for freedom is more than worth it.

0

Sitting down next to Lucinda, Thomasina inquires, “Miss?”

Since Jack left and Michelle appeared, she’s been quietly helping the couple.

She’s never treated Thomasina with anything but politeness. It unnerves Thomasina, but being unnerved is a part of working for the Benjamin family.

“I’m fine,” Lucinda tearfully assures her. “I’m happy baby Sarah and her mother are fine, and I’m grateful that Jack-” She starts sobbing.

Sighing, Thomasina wonders why King Silas couldn’t have accepted his legitimate son, and worse, she’s haunted by the thought, she could have possibly changed things without being disloyal. Withdrawing some Kleenexes, she gently pries the hands away and pushes them against Lucinda’s face.

Lucinda leans against the wall. “Ever since I was a teenager, boys have wanted to sleep with me. Then, men from old money, like me, wanted to join their family with mine. It seemed I’d never find a man who was interested in me, instead of hoping to have sex with me or making a suitable match based on blood and money.”

Sighing, she continues, “Then, Jack, he treated me like a person. He didn’t need a woman from old money to make alliances between our families. We laughed at the ridiculousness of old movies and debated whether ice-cream or ice-cream cake was better. He had a dry sense of humour, and he knew as much, if not more, about current affairs as I did. It was so nice talking to him, learning about his thoughts, telling him of mine. And he never tried to push me into sleeping with him.”

With a wishful look in her eyes, she says, “Eventually, I realised he was handsome, and I would have gladly done so. But he didn’t want to, and I didn’t question it. I knew how bad I felt when I was pushed. So, I thought that it was best to wait until he and I were both completely sure it was right. Then, he asked me to marry him, and I thought he was in love with me, that he wanted me, the girl who had only shallow value, to be his wife and mother to his children. I thought he was secretly romantic and wanted our first time to be as man and wife.”

Knowing how completely inadequate such words are, Thomasina nevertheless offers, “I’m sorry.”

“I knew. I saw something, once, and before King Silas had his outburst, I suspected, but when he did, I knew.” She shakes her head, takes Thomasina’s hand, and gently squeezes it. “But I thought: he loves me as a friend, and we can children. We can have children and raise them better. We can teach them to love themselves.”

Her voice breaks, “I’ve never loved myself. I always thought that I wasn’t interesting as a person, that my thoughts and feelings were worthless. If we had children, though, we could give them love every day and night, and they’d love themselves. We could teach them that loving a man or a woman, that that wasn’t the important part. That it was important they never settle. That only the good, only those who truly love them, are worthy.”

Thomasina squeezes her hand. “Miss, you don’t need Jack to be your salvation.” If anything, Jack and she and the whole family will end up being your downfall, she privately adds. “Let me find you a psychiatrist. Once you work through your demons, if you still think children is the answer, there are ways to have them without a man in the picture. It will be hard, but I’ve known mothers who raised children like you describe all by themselves.” She sighs. “But in your current state, I would recommend you don’t attempt it.”   

Smiling watery, Lucinda nods. “I’m tired of feeling like this.”

0

“Hey,” David says.

Michelle shakes her head and looks out the window. “Jack never told me about his orientation. When I was diagnosed, he told me to tell him if there was anything he could do, and then, he never visited. I don’t remember a time we’ve ever said ‘I love you’ to each other. Supposedly, I have a brother, Sarah an uncle, and you a brother-in-law. But it doesn’t seem like it.”

“Stop looking,” she tells him. “I don’t want to be ruler. I don’t know how I can be that and a mother. But if Jack is unwilling to forgive, then, I’ll leave him alone.”

Kissing her, David notes, “You’ve forgiven him. Maybe, that’s the most important thing.”

“It doesn’t stop me from wishing I could know my own flesh-and-blood. That he could reciprocate and forgive me. That perhaps, one day, we could say ‘I love you’ to each other.”

“I’ll help you,” David promises. “Sarah will always be loved. And Gilboa will be patient, understanding.”

0

Years later, Jack tenses when he hears Shepherd’s voice on TV.

He’s about to turn it off when he hears: “Officially, a suicide, evidence has been found that Joseph Lasile-”

His heart pounding, Jack quickly sits up.

“A free-lance artist and daytime waiter, might have been killed on covert orders from either King Silas or Queen Rose. His connection to the crown, if any, is unknown. My wife has obtained the blessings of Mister Lasile’s family to exhume and autopsy the body. I’m in the process of creating a special task force to interrogate all palace servants to determine if anyone has ever unjustly been murdered by orders of the late King and Queen. The families of any...”

Staring at the TV, Jack ignores the tears suddenly running down his face.

When his mother had told him, Jack had thought she might be responsible. But she was his mother, and he had to believe she loved him. He had to believe she would never hurt him in such a terrible way.

Jack has always known Joseph’s life had been forfeited because of his love for Jack. Despite what it says about Rose and himself, Jack is strangely grateful Joseph hadn’t willingly forfeited his life.

Jack hadn’t broken him.

0

Thomasina freezes when she feels the gun against her head.

“Are you the one who made it so that I could close my eyes and think of the dead?”

“No,” she answers. “Your parents never asked me to do anything that would hurt you and your sister in such a way until the very end.”

“Your loyalty is touching.”

“It was either an heir or your life. Silas promised once he had your son or daughter, he would exile you,” is her measured response. “Despite your betrayal, Rose would have made sure you had plenty to live comfortably on. Eventually, you would have healed.”

She feels the gun leave her head. “Do victims of rape ever truly heal?”

After a stretch of silence, he says, “Whatever gives you an easy sleep, then. It should be even easier for you: I was only a victim of an attempt. If you follow, I will shoot.”

A minute later, the door clicks shut.

0

There’s a city-wide shut down.

In retrospect, he really should have realised: not only did Thomasina have a phone, but of course, she would use it.

0

Jack is walking through a park near the palace when he sees a child about to fall from a tree. Running over, he catches them.

“Thank you,” the little girl says. She’s chubby with curly, blonde hair and the same shade of blue he remember Michelle having. “My name is Sarah.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jack says. “Is your mom or dad around?”

A pout forms. “I’m running away.”

Sighing, he asks, “Any reason why?”

“They won’t let me go to the moon.

“Did they say you could never go?”

“No, but I’m not a baby, anymore!”

“Going to the moon can be dangerous. It takes a lot of training,” Jack tells her. “Why don’t you start training, now? Then, when you’re older, if you still want to go, they won’t be so afraid of you leaving. You’re not a baby, but you’re still young and inexperienced. If you went now, they’d be very scared.”  

For a few minutes, Sarah is silent and thoughtfully chew her lip. Then, she stands and holds out her hand. “Will you take me back to the palace?”

It suddenly hits him who this child is.

Standing, Jack takes her hand. “I’ll take you to the gates.”

“Thank you.”

He feels something on his hand, and he looks down. On the hand holding hers is a butterfly, and there’s another butterfly on her head. She’s looking at his head.

With his free hand, he feels brings his hand to his cap. Something crawls on it, and when he brings it down, he sees it’s a butterfly.

Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath. “Sarah, I need to pray for a minute. Will you wait here?”

“Okay.”

When he’s out of earshot, Jack says, “I am who I am. I’m not going to stop seeing men. If you want a King who will marry and have children, I suggest you keep badgering David, your original choice.”

The butterfly from his head flies and flaps its wings against his cheek.

0

“Hello, Michelle. Do you realise that your daughter surpasses you at running away attempts?”

There’s complete silence when Michelle and David look up to see the long missing Jack holding the hand of their daughter.  

“I haven’t hurt her,” he assures them.

0

“I’ll let you live and continue to serve the family if you promise me one thing.”

“Sir.”

“If I ever start to become like my father, you put a bullet through my head.”

After a long moment, Thomasina says, “I swear.”

Nodding, King Jack looks out the window. “Everything is going to change. I will surpass my father. And hopefully, when Sarah is ready, she will surpass me.”

“Yes, sir.”


End file.
